Who is Luigi Mangione, the man who admitted to shooting a healthcare CEO?

Luigi Mangione, 28, a man from a prominent Maryland family who excelled academically, has admitted to the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. The incident occurred on December 4, 2024, outside a New York City hotel. Mangione initially denied the murder and pleaded not guilty, but on August 14, he changed his plea to guilty in the federal case, confessing to two charges of interstate stalking resulting in death.

In a statement to the court, Mangione explained his motive, stating he was driven to kill Thompson due to his negative experiences with the healthcare system, "after years of enduring severe pains from a broken back." He admitted to researching Thompson's whereabouts and finding that the executive would be at a meeting in New York City. "I shot Mr Thompson in Manhattan and he died," Mangione confessed in a New York court.

Mangione has been held without bail for nearly two years at a Brooklyn jail. His sentencing in the federal case is scheduled for December. He also faces state charges in New York, where his trial is set to begin in September. These charges include second-degree murder, possession of a forged instrument (for an alleged fake driver's license), and six counts of criminal possession of a weapon. His lawyers are attempting to dismiss most of these charges following his federal guilty plea, with only the alleged fake ID card charge potentially remaining.

Mangione was apprehended five days after the shooting at a McDonald's in Altoona, Pennsylvania. At the time of his arrest, he was reportedly in possession of a gun, ammunition, multiple fake IDs, and cash. Police also found a handwritten document expressing "ill will" towards corporate America, containing phrases such as "frankly, these parasites had it coming."

The Mangione family, known in the Baltimore area for businesses including country clubs, nursing homes, and a radio station, expressed shock and devastation through a statement from Mangione's cousin, Republican state lawmaker Nino Mangione. The statement offered prayers to Brian Thompson's family and asked for prayers for all involved. Thomas Maronick, a defense attorney familiar with the family, conveyed his surprise to the BBC, stating, "You wouldn't think someone of privilege or means from a family that's known for doing so much for the community would do something like this."

Mangione was the valedictorian at the private, all-boys Gilman School in Baltimore, an honor typically given to the student with the highest academic achievements. A former classmate told CBS News that Mangione "didn't have any enemies" and was "valedictorian for a reason." He went on to graduate from the University of Pennsylvania with bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science, where he also founded a video game development club. A friend from the Ivy League college described him as "super normal" and "smart."

Mangione's social media profiles indicate he worked as a data engineer for TrueCar, a digital retailing website for cars, though a company spokesman confirmed he had not been employed there since 2023. He also spent time in a co-living surfing community in Hawaii called Surfbreak. Sarah Nehemiah, who knew him then, told CBS that he left due to his back injury, which had worsened from surfing and hiking.

In November, Mangione's mother reported him missing to San Francisco authorities, stating she hadn't heard from him since July. This missing person report was flagged to authorities after police began investigating the shooting. When contacted by police, Mangione's mother did not identify her son as the suspect but remarked that "it might be something that she could see him doing."

Friends have informed US media that Mangione underwent back surgery. An X account believed to belong to him features an X-ray of a spine with hardware as its background image. On a Reddit account seemingly belonging to him, Mangione reportedly posted about his struggles with chronic back pain and brain fog. A former roommate, RJ Martin, told the BBC that while Mangione "never complained," his back pain at times "prohibited him" from "many normal things," such as surfing or playing volleyball. Martin, who eventually lost contact with Mangione, expressed his belief that his former friend "would have never conceived of hurting someone else," adding, "There's no making sense of it."

A Goodreads account matching Mangione's name and photo shows he read two books about back pain in 2022, including "Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry." He also gave four stars to "Industrial Society and Its Future" by Theodore Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber manifesto. In his review, Mangione acknowledged Kaczynski's violent nature but also described him as a political revolutionary.